We sat uncomfortably amidst the happy hour bar crowd of the Longyard hotel bar, totally at odds with the rest of the patrons there. Perhaps they were staring at us for sitting in front of the television when the cricket match was on, perhaps it was that we were both drinking wine while they were all drinking beer, or perhaps Melissa attracted their attention, for as a Canadian woman, she was the only female in the room.

This was the next stop on our NSW trip: Tamworth, the Country and Western capital of Australia. Us, like a couple of 'City Blow-ins', were eager to expose our Country and Western roots (if we had any?). Once a year, each January in Tamworth, people come from far and wide to experience the Country & Western Music festival. Missing this, we hoped we could make do with "Brenton Williams", who was performing live at the local bar - the bar which stood within the shadow of the famous 'giant' Golden Guitar. (Yee Haw!)

Unfortunately for us, this particular singer was more interested in playing American Rock covers of bands that we could have heard in Canada

. In fact, he even played a rendition of Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold', which wasn't that bad, actually.

Pretty soon the tavern denizens had received the final results of the big Thursday night raffle and boot scooted on out of there. We followed soon afterwards, but not before testing our 'skill level' on the breathalyzer attached to the pub wall (we both failed). Luckily we only had to walk across the street to get back to our accommodation, "Plumes on the Green". This Bed and Breakfast, by the way, was superb and the gracious proprietor, Nola, provided us with more yummy food than we could possibly eat.

Next up, we take a turn 'Sideways' to Hunter Valley, where wine growing and drinking is the norm.